The Truth Beneath the Rose
by The World in Black and White
Summary: Uther knew. Of course he did. It was obvious. How his son didn't see it was beyond him. Probably couldn't see anything past his own ego. Now, though, he was left with a lot of questions, all beginning with 'why? Why had Arthur's clumsy, incredible manservant used magic to save his life?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Warning for OOCness, but to be frank, it's my fanfic and I'll do what I want to. Also, I don't own this, nor do I have any money. Please don't sue me. Or kill me. Or anything… ^^' Oh, and for your future reference… this will be slash. And it starts between Season 1 Episode 7-8, though I'm gonna throw my own stuff around so it'll just be a big, hot mess once I'm done with it. Canon to 7.5, alright? 'Kay. I'm done.**

**Hit it!**

Uther couldn't help but wonder how foolish his son was. How had the boy not seen it? It was clear as day, for _everyone _to see, and yet his son, his idiotic son, had not.

Uther couldn't help but want to strangle his son, sometimes.

He remembered being ill, so terribly ill, unable to move his body to respond to his son and daughter's pleads for him to wake up, but he heard them.

He had heard everything; including Merlin, Arthur's clumsy, endearing, ethereally _beautiful _manservant using magic to save his life.

Somehow, despite his mind screaming at him to burn the boy on a pyre, he couldn't bring himself to persecute such an obviously pure soul that had done nothing more, or less, rather, than _save his life._

He gingerly stepped into Gaius' chambers, peeking his head round the door to make sure the physician was absent before continuing his silent path up the stairs to what he knew led to Merlin's room, and arrived at the door just in time to see Merlin place a staff, with a glowing blue gem that matched the boy's eyes, under a loose floorboard, followed by a book wrapped in cloth. He saw the manservant replace the wooden board and sigh heavily, before heaving himself up and towards his bed.

"Merlin." Uther called as he knocked twice on the door.

"C-come in! Sire!" Merlin frantically bowed, lowering his head in subservience rarely seen from the boy and even that could not hide the slight trembling in his hands.

"Please, Merlin. In this room, consider us equals, yes?" Uther raised a hand to silence the boy's wide-eyed, stammered arguments. "No, Merlin, for now I need you to listen to me, okay?" when the boy had nodded, Uther made him sit on the edge of the bed before kneeling before the former farmer.

"M-my lord…" he exhaled shakily, hands trembling as he lifted them to try and push Uther back to his feet. Uther simply lifted his hands and caught the small, pale and thin ones in his own. "'Tis not… seemly…"

"I believe I owe you my life, Merlin." Uther interrupted the boy, and of course the deceptively brilliant youth caught on immediately as his eyes widened and his breathing sped up to almost twice the speed it had been. "Shh…" Uther hushed him. "Listen?"

When Merlin had nodded again, tearfully this time and something about that tore at Uther's heart, he continued.

"When I was ill, while I was unable to move my body in any way, I was consciously aware of what was happening around me at the time. Therefore, I am aware that you have magic, but," he hurried to add, sensing the impending panic attack, "I am also aware of how you saved my life with it."

"S-Sire… I…" Merlin's eyes were wide and as deep as Lake Avalon as they gazed at him through a film of tears that had started to spill over.

"Please, it's Uther." He reprimanded gently, needing the boy to understand that he didn't mean him any harm.

"U-Uther, I… I'm so sorry, my lord – Uther, I… I'm so sorry." Merlin sobbed, lifting the back of one hand, sleeve covering it, to shield his eyes and tears from the King's gaze.

"Please, Merlin, do not fear me. I am simply here to know… _why?" _Merlin's head shot up so quickly the King momentarily feared for his neck but relaxed when the youth showed no signs of pain.

"Why?" Merlin's voice was small and uncomprehending. "Why… what?"

"Why did you choose to learn magic? And why did you come to Camelot, why haven't you killed us yet? Why didn't you let us die?" he would have continued, but the sudden rage in Merlin's expression left his voice to taper off in shock.

"You think I _chose _this? This life?! If you can even call it that?! Constantly living in fear of being discovered, betrayed, feared and hated by the people I love and hold dear. I was born like this! I had no choice! I could use magic before I could speak! It's a part of me, and the last time I tried to pretend it wasn't it ate away at me from the inside out! Do you think, that if I had a choice," suddenly, Merlin's was no longer shouting at him, but rather he had slumped in defeat, tears filling his voice again. "Do you think, that if I had a choice to get rid of it, I wouldn't? I would do anything to be normal, Uther…" the King's name escaped his lips in a hopeless whisper.

"If you're going to kill me, I would personally rather beheading. Burning alive is rather painful and drawn out, far more mess, too. Do you know how hard it is to get the plaza clean after each of your 'demonstrations'?" the word was sneered venomously. "It's awful, watching you call me a monster, murdering my people, staring down at us like cockroaches. You're a murderer! You're a _monster!_" Merlin's voice rose to a scream and he threw himself bodily at Uther, fists flying in an attempt to hit anything he can as he knocked the man onto the floor on his back.

"Do you have _any,_" – thump – "idea how _hard,_" – slap – "it is to spend _every day_," – crash – "in the presence of a man who would _kill_," – bash – "you without a _second fucking thought_," – another slap to the face – "just because of something you were _born with?! I never asked for this!" _he roared, fists raining down on Uther's incredibly, cruelly firm chest and the only sight that it was having any kind of effect was the soft grunting that came with the occasionally well aimed blow. "I'm _scared! _I don't want to die! I… I don't want to die… I'm only 15… please. You can't, you _can't _kill me! My mummy, she'd cry…" Merlin's hits were weakening until he simply had his clenched fists resting on the King's chest as tears fell onto the red shirt, clouding his vision. "Please… I'm so scared! I don't want to be a monster…"

He collapsed onto Uther's chest, sobbing like his heart had been ripped from his chest and Uther could feel his own breaking for the boy as he cried himself out, wrapping his strong arms around the worryingly thin waist and lifting the boy with alarming ease, settling him onto the bed and frowning in disapproval at the sight of the ratty, threadbare blanket that served the pale youth as bedding, pulling off his own, leather jacket with a fur lining and laying it over the deeply sleeping boy, pulling the blanket over him as well and simply letting him be.

This was a conversation they could continue tomorrow.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Thanks to everyone who reviewed the first chapter of this story! I've always felt that Uther had a lot of potential for character development, but it was only ever hinted at, rather than actually explored in the series, so this is my take on what SHOULD have happened in my strange, sick and twisted mind ^^. And yes, this story will DEFINITELY be slash and it will 83% be between Uther and Merlin because, in this story, Merlin is 15, Arthur is 17 and Uther is 38 because, let's be honest, in the 5****th**** Century people had kids when they were a **_**lot **_**younger than 21. Girls got married at the age of 13 and younger, for Pete's sake.**

**Okay, I'm done. Review responses at the bottom for anyone who cares ^_^b**

"Merlin!" Gaius' unmistakable voice penetrated the fog of sleep that hovered over Merlin, and he let out a soft whine as he snuggled into the soft warmth of his blanket and sighed at the sensation of soft fur against his skin.

Wait.

_What?!_

Sitting upright in bed, he stared at the expensive and unmistakeable jacket of the King, and came to the horrible realization that yesterday had actually happened and was not the bad dream he had hoped it had been.

"Merlin!" Gaius called again, and Merlin could hear his footsteps approaching. Panicking, he threw the jacket under the bed and ran over to the door, throwing it open and nearly colliding with his guardian in his haste. "What one earth are you doing?" Gaius raised 'the eyebrow' and Merlin laughed nervously in response.

"You, uh… called?" Gaius' expression clearly told Merlin that his guardian was unimpressed.

"Yes. The king has requested your presence for the day. You have been relieved of your duties to Arthur, but they will continue again tomorrow, so _don't get lazy_."

The… king… presence… _fuck…_

"Merlin? Are you all right?" Merlin snapped out of his reverie and stared down at his guardian, who was peering into his face curiously and was also just a little uncomfortably close.

"Y-yes! Of course," he laughed nervously again in the face of Gaius' disbelieving expression.

"Right." The elderly man drawled. "Well, I'll be going out to collect some herbs from a village just out of town, so I'll see you in the morning."

"Okay." Merlin may have agreed too quickly, in hindsight.

Oops.

"Well, I'll be off, then." Gaius said, walking slowly towards the door. "Um… are you sure you're all right?"

"Yes!" Merlin exclaimed. "I'm positive. Positively certain; never been more sure of anything in my entire life," He continued, herding the physician towards the door and out of it. "Have a good trip! Don't work too hard! Take your time!"

The door thudded as it closed on the man's bewildered face, and Merlin leaned against it heavily, slipping down and into a curled up shape at the bottom, trembling slightly in fear of what was to come. He really didn't want that to be how Gaius remembered him, but if that was the case, it was better than him being beheaded.

He walked back up to his room, collecting the coat and folding it gently, hugging the still-warm fabric to his chest as he scurried through the palace towards the king's chambers, stopping anxiously before the imposing doors, his knock barely audible due to his shaking hand.

"Come in."

He opened the door with trepidation, not looking up until it was securely closed before him and, as he raised his head, his breath caught in his throat and he found himself all-of-a-sudden incapable of thinking.

Sure, it was obvious the king was incredibly handsome, with his black hair that was just starting to grey at the temples, giving him a more pensive and wise appearance, golden-tanned skin and rippling muscles from endless days of training, but the sight of him, topless, with pants hanging off his strong hips, highlighting a narrow waist and broad shoulders, strong pectorals and a _very _defined eight-pack on his abdomen. His arms were easily as thick as Merlin's – admittedly reedy – legs, if not thicker, and his biceps bulged as he moved his arms closer to his body for a moment.

There was a light dusting of black hair over his chest and dusky, brown nipples. Not enough to be off-putting, but rather the perfect amount to highlight the sheer masculinity of the man, not to mention the trail of hair running from his bellybutton and into his trousers.

"Ah, Merlin, there you are." The king spoke without turning around, thankfully giving Merlin a chance to swallow roughly, hydrating his suddenly dry mouth while hurriedly picturing Gaius naked.

It worked.

"Could you pass me the shirt over the chair, please? Then we'll talk." The king added, and Merlin hurried to do as he asked, passing it over the man's shoulder and averting his gaze as Uther pulled it over his head.

"I… um, brought your coat, from yesterday? Um… where do you w-want me to… put it?" Merlin inwardly kicked himself, his voice was high and breathy and so _embarrassing_.

"Just put it on the table." Uther replied, turning around with a warm smile and leading Merlin to a comfortable seating area where the king reclined languidly in an armchair and Merlin sat himself stiffly on a lounge. "Now, Merlin,"

"Sire," Merlin cut him off. "Please, I – I'm sorry, just let me say goodbye to my friends first? I'm begging you-"

"Merlin," Uther held up a hand to silence the boy before he could become hysterical. "Listen, I'm not going to hurt you. I want… I want you to explain all this to me."

"What, Sire?" Merlin couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"Everything. What you're doing here, why you're saving our lives over and over again, it seems. What you meant when you said you were born with magic. And… I want to understand you, you're thinking. Why you're doing this. Please?" Uther let the words rush out of his mouth before he could talk himself down from it. "Also, when we're alone, it's Uther."

"Uther…" Merlin breathed out, staring at the king with an unreadable expression on his face that made him shift uncomfortably for a moment. "I – I don't know where to start." He admitted.

"Perhaps from the beginning?" Uther couldn't help the wry grin that accompanied his words, and Merlin couldn't help but notice how young it made the man look, not a day past 25, for his 38 years.

"Okay…" he took a deep breath. This was going to be a long story. "My mother says that I wasn't even a month old when I performed my first act of magic, summoning a toy from across the room to me, in my crib, and she said how scared she was…"

And it continued, Merlin's life story pouring from his lips as the king listened with compassion.

"And…" Merlin hiccupped a sob. "I turned around and the village boys were there and they…" he felt like he couldn't continue, but the strong arm that wound around his waist and pulled him against a firm chest that he hadn't even noticed appearing beside him soothed him enough to allow him to continue. "They beat me until I couldn't move. My mother was so scared, but I started to heal right before her eyes. That's how Will found out about my magic, you know. He had carried me to my house, he was 14, three years older than me so it was pretty easy…"

He spoke until the sun had begun to set, and his voice scratched at his throat, but his story was done. Uther knew everything up until that point, and Merlin couldn't help but smile into the man's chest as Uther simply held him for a moment, letting him breath.

"Come." Uther said simply, standing and holding out a large, calloused hand which enveloped Merlin's own tiny, pale and unbelievably smooth one. "I want to show you something."

Uther led him through his chambers and into his bedchamber, moving over to a tapestry and pulling it off the wall, dropping it on the floor. He pressed down on one of the stones and Merlin watched in awe as it sunk into the wall, followed by a large chunk of it swinging open, revealing a dark passage.

"Light the torches." Uther said, and Merlin's gaze snapped up to his face, staring for a moment before turning to face the opening determinedly and raising his hand.

"Leohtbora." Merlin incanted, and a shiver ran down Uther's spine pleasantly at the quiet, hissing quality the boy's voice took on, but he couldn't stop his eyes from widening slightly as the torches flared to life violently, illuminating both the tunnel and the chambers behind him. Turning to Merlin with an incredulously raised eyebrow, the boy shrugged sheepishly. "I'm still getting the hang of it."

Well, that was reassuring. _Not._

Uther motioned for Merlin to follow him as he led the way down the tunnel, into a massive room that took Merlin's breath away.

It was made up of 18 sides shaped so that it appeared to be round, and the incredibly high ceiling was lined with bookshelves and books. Next to the doorway was a spiral staircase that led up to the second level walkway and then the third. There was a massive desk across the room, and more books were piled on the ground. There were chests around the room as well, closed and not giving away any hint of their contents, but Merlin was beginning to think he could guess.

"What… is this place?" he asked, having stepped away from the doorway and king to take a better look at the room, spinning around to face the older man.

"Magical artefacts, all remnants from the Great Purge." Uther explained, sweeping his hand in a gesture meant to show that he was including the entire contents of the room.

"You mean _stolen_." Merlin hissed at him, and Uther blinked, taken aback at the venomous tone. He couldn't even remember the last time someone dared speak to him like that without fear or remorse and it was, in a word, liberating.

That is, until Merlin's words caught up with Uther's brain.

"No!" he denied vehemently. "These were all given to people like Gaius by sorcerers and the like in the hopes of them being spared. I collected them all into this room, hidden from everyone. No one, aside from myself, and now you, is aware of this room's existence. And I would prefer to keep it that way." Uther added meaningfully, and Merlin nodded back at him to show he understood.

"I'm… sorry." Merlin said, and Uther looked at him in confusion. "For jumping to conclusions like that, assuming the worst…"

"It's fine." Uther chuckled humourlessly. "I haven't exactly given you reason to believe the best of me, have I?" Merlin's lips twitched up slightly in a sad smile. "I hope, one day, I will." Uther didn't realize he had said these words out loud and Merlin, recognising this, didn't bring him up on it.

"Well, why did you keep these? Why didn't you destroy them?" Merlin asked instead of the other questions swinging around his mind that were probably far too personal.

"Because, despite everything, despite the evil it could do and the way it threw the world into chaos, magic… magic gave me my son." he admitted, and Merlin's brow furrowed in confusion even as his eyes widened and his mouth dropped open in shock.

"Wh…" Merlin seemed to debate with himself for a moment, and Uther was content to let him, until his eyes lifted back up to catch Uther's, glinting with determination and Uther _knew _that he was going to give in to whatever the boy wanted of him because, with that look in his eye, so like her's, he was the spitting image of Ygraine. "What do you mean, 'magic gave me my son'?"

Uther sighed softly, figures that the boy would ask that, of all the questions. "When I was married to Ygraine, I was only 18, but I truly loved her. We had been friends for many years, and when I proposed she just looked at me and said 'what took you so long?'" Uther chuckled in fond memory, and Merlin smiled gently at him, encouraging him to continue. "At the time, magic was a part of everyday life. Sure, it was often misused by people for their own gain, but they were tried like any other criminal would be. We had sorcerers working for the crown and many of Gaius' remedies involved magic of some kind. Nimueh was Court Sorcerer and, to make a long story short, by the time I was 20 Ygraine had suffered half a dozen miscarriages and it was beginning to take its toll. I was desperate, I demanded Nimueh give us a child. She kept trying to tell me something, but I wouldn't listen. I didn't care about the consequences. All I could think was that Ygraine was finally pregnant, our child was finally going to come into the world and that was all that mattered. When time came for Ygraine to give birth, something went wrong. It was a very difficult birth, and by the time Arthur was in my arms, she was dead. It only took one look at Nimueh to know that whatever magic she had used to create Arthur's life had killed my wife and the rest, as they say, is history."

He shrugged, trying to play off the heartache that remembering had caused, but then he felt a soft weight against his back and thin arms wound around his waist from behind as Merlin leaned his forehead against Uther's shoulder blades, too short to reach his shoulders. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have pried, it was too personal. You should have said something."

Uther let his hands rest over the ones around his waist and murmured back to the teenager softly. "It's okay. I've never spoken of it, but I feel a lot lighter than I did. Thank you." The grip around his waist tightened in response, and he smiled to himself.

"It's okay." Merlin whispered, and Uther mildly entertained the thought of how similar Merlin was to Ygraine, except for his hair, which was as black as night whereas Ygraine's was the same golden-yellow of their son's, but the general facial structure was the same.

"Well," Uther cleared his throat, gently separating himself, albeit reluctantly, from the boy. "This room is yours to use as you will, as are its contents. You are welcome to enter anytime you like, just come through my chambers. No need to knock and you can use the servant's entrance. It's a lot closer to Gaius' quarters." He smiled at the young manservant. "Just through there." He pointed through his bedchamber and into the main room where Merlin could see a small alcove leading off from it and down.

"Thank you." Merlin smiled back, nodding his acknowledgment of the gesture. "My lord…" he called when Uther had begun to walk away, and the man turned back to face him with an expression of good-humoured exasperation.

"For the last time, Merlin, when we are alone we are equals. Therefore, I must insist you refer to me as Uther." The king chided gently.

"Um…" Merlin nibbled on his lip, and Uther resolutely kept his gaze off the sight and on the boy's eyes. "Is there anything… else…? I can call you? It's just that… all my life the name Uther has been tied to death and… I really don't want that kind of association with the person I see… right now…" the boy's voice went from hesitant to more resolute, but ended on a soft note and Uther felt a small part of him melt and the sight.

"My middle name is Ector. You may call me by that if you wish." And with that, Uther inclined his head to the boy once more, turned and left.

"Defender…" Merlin murmured to himself with an upturn of the lips, smiling at nothing in particular. He turned to face the room, and began to pull books from the shelves, sitting at the grand desk with the intention of devouring each and every one.

**A/N: Review responses!**

**Guest: Thank you so much! Like I stated earlier, I think that it's a really understated pairing and that Uther has so much potential as a character, so I hope I can do him justice.**

**merlinreveal3: I know, but I wanted to change all the ages around a bit, so in this Merlin is 15, Arthur is 17 and Uther is 38, meaning he was 21 when Ygraine gave birth and is 23 years older than Merlin. I hope this clears everything up! ^^**

**Allround yaoi fangirl: Thanks so much! I always liked the song, and Within Temptation is a great band. 'What Have You Done' is my favourite song of theirs, if you don't know if already I would highly recommend it! I'm glad you came to that conclusion, seeing as it was the idea I was hoping to convey. I think it's perfectly understandable that someone in Merlin's position would only be able to take so much and I personally think that the writers of Merlin missed a great chance for character development in that regard. Thanks for your review! I hope this was satisfactory.**

**MangaVampire: Thank you so much for every review! I always love reading your opinions and thoughts. Don't fear; I will never abandon a story. However, sometimes it might take a long time for me to update something because I've lost the inspiration for it, but I will definitely complete all my stories (eventually ^^'). Thanks so much for all your patience! I hope you enjoyed this latest chapter.**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Sorry about the short chapter! I just needed to get this out of my system before going away for a week. I'm literally typing as I sit in an airport, so be grateful! I'll try to write during my trip, but there's no internet access so I won't be updating anything for a few days. See you guys next week! Have a great one!**

Uther woke before the sun had truly risen. It was just late enough in the morning for the sky to begin to lighten, and, staring out of his window, he absently noted how pale everything looked in the gentle light, even though he could barely make out anything.

He walked across his room to his dressing screen, stepping behind it a pulling on the clothes he had laid out the night before. It was only after he was finished that he realized there was a faint sound coming from the other side of the wall…

Merlin!

He couldn't believe he had forgotten about that! There weren't any windows in there. The boy was probably exhausted, or worse, still up, having had no sleep at all. And then he would have to attend to Uther's prat, he believed was the word Merlin was fond of, of a son.

Stepping through quickly, he paused at the sight of Merlin, head resting on his arms, which were folded over an open book, fast asleep at the desk. It was obvious the youth had needed the rest, though Uther could only now see how his skin was a little less deathly pale than it had been yesterday, and the bruises under his eyes less pronounced, hair seeming a bit shinier and Uther almost sent for a different Servant to see to Arthur for the day, if only to let this small boy sleep a little longer.

It was, Uther acknowledged, almost impossible to spend any length of time in the boy's presence and _not_ feel an overwhelming urge to protect him.

"Merlin." He whispered, shaking the youth's shoulder gently so as not to startle him. "Merlin." He repeated, firmer.

"What?!" Merlin exclaimed, jumping in place and promptly falling out of his seat and to the floor, gaze shooting about the room in surprise.

Uther laughed.

Genuinely, laughed. He laughed like he couldn't remember doing since Ygraine had leaned over to his ear and whispered a comment about how it 'couldn't be a coincidence that Agravaine sounds so much like aggravating' during a particularly dull meeting with the man.

"Well, I'm glad you find so much humour in my misfortune, Sire. Now, if you would be so kind as to excuse me, I have to go attend to your prat of a son while performing a position that _you _gave me in return for saving the ungrateful idiot's life. Good day." Merlin huffed like a slighted female and stalked from the room and all Uther could do was lean against the desk and laugh until tears began to pour down his face.

"I'm… it's just…" he gasped, hardly able to speak for laughing.

"No, it's too late now. The damage is done. You've made your opinion perfectly clear. Now, like I said, I must be going." Merlin stuck his nose up in the air and sniffed haughtily but the star-like twinkle in his eyes gave away his intentions and he broke within a few seconds and smiled at Uther, who found himself incapable of breathe at the sight. When people spoke of a smile that could light a room, Uther now knew what they referred to.

He envied Arthur, waking up to that wondrous sight every morning, Uther mused, before abruptly shaking himself free of his thoughts, eyes widening in shock. _Oh, he did _not _just think that about a boy two years younger than his own son!_

Except for the part where he did.

"Well," Uther sighed, taking Merlin's vacated seat and watching the red neckerchief disappear through the servant's entrance. "I am, as they say, fucked."

0o0o0

_Meanwhile…_

"Time to rise!" Merlin said with, what Arthur assumed was, a goofy grin, throwing the curtains open in Prince Arthur's room and shedding light upon the protesting lump in the middle of the unnecessarily large bed.

"Mmmmm…"

"Busy day today, your highness," Merlin continued.

"Mmm, mmmmm, mm."

"Lot's to do today, you know. No time to dilly-dally."

"Mmph, mmm, hmph, mmamame."

"I am not entirely certain that's a word, Sire."

"George?!"

Arthur flung the covers off of him, sitting up straight in his bed and paying no attention to the cold air that bit at him as he stared, flabbergasted, at the _infuriating _servant before him.

"What the hell are you doing here?!"

"His Majesty has requested Merlin attend to him for the day, Sire," _what, _"therefore it has become my duty to attend to your every need for the day." George, Arthur's _old _manservant and, in Arthur's opinion, resident 'Merlin wannabe', finished his statement with a self-righteous click of his heels and deferential life of his chin, hands clasped firmly behind his back and a full breakfast, laid out flawlessly, on the table.

"Right…" Arthur drawled, raising one eyebrow (he learnt that from Gaius) and continuing to stare down the man. He was waiting for the servant to nag him, to fling the covers off the bed and demand he get up, to throw a shirt at his face and seat him firmly at the table, impatient and overbearing like a mother, while maintaining an air of affection and gentleness.

He was waiting for him to be _Merlin_.

"Well, I'm training with the knights today, Merlin said, so prepare my armour and make sure that my sword is sharpened." Arthur dismissed him with a wave of his hand and pulled himself from the bed, making the trek all the way across the room in twice the time it would have taken Merlin to dress himself.

"Done, Sire."

"…my laundry?"

"Washed, dried and folded, Sire."

Of course it was. "My lunch?"

"Preparations are in place, Sire."

"Dare I ask after my dinner?"

"Roast duck with a side of baked vegetables, Sire."

"Is there anything you _haven't _already done?"

"…"

Arthur sighed heavily. "Never mind, forget it. Just… just go."


End file.
